The magic coiled around Leonard in a roiling wave of yellow light. The light-flooded towards Max and something tingled inside his mind.

'Dangerous' Was all that he could think before his magic acted without his permission once more.

Lightning welled around Max and protected him from this strange light but unexpectantly nothing came of the light and the lightning clashing.

The light simply dissipated leaving behind roiling waves of lightning that began to coil around Max's body once more. And just like before Max had no control over the flooding lightning that's only goal seemed to be to protect him.

'Why does this keep happening?!' Max thought to himself as he felt his mana quickly drain until it was back at nothing.

"A sturdy defense Little Blacklock. At least for your age. It seems as if my False Alarm Spell worked perfectly to set off your innate defense system." Leonard said while examining him.

"Innate affinity with an element is just as rare as being a natural and it seems you are both. This means that everything about you is unique. There have been people like you to exist in the past Maxwell." He said before giving a cautious glance towards grandfather to which grandfather nodded gently.

"No more secrets." His grandfather muttered before motioning them to continue.

"Some would call them nature borns or druids but I like to call them... The Awakened." He stopped for a second to collect his thoughts.

"These are people whose entire existence has become attuned to magic in one way or another. And from what I know an awakened hasn't been recorded in over a few thousand years. The last one was of the giant race I do so believe." He said as if remembering something from his distant past.

"Ah yes... Merlin the Truth Sayer and Auger of Myst Peak. The Half Man-Half Giant who could tell no lie. It is said that what he said became reality..."

"You said recorded history though... Does that mean others were not necessarily proven Awakened who still existed?" Max asked as something seemed to drive him to question the statement.

"Ah yes... That would do it for a seeker. Always trying to find the 'truth'." Leonard said gently before answering.

"Yes, you are correct. There are many self-acclaimed Awakened and plenty who could almost be said to be Awakened but none of them have been proven to be it by... Well, I suppose someone like me."

"A dual Awakened. Very rare but not Impossible. One in ten million you could say."

"I am here to tell you what makes you special though. Not what makes me special." He finished.

"So Let's begin." He said in an interested tone.

"You are a Natural Seeker. Any guess at what aspect of magic that belongs to?"

Max shook his head before stopping himself. He knew this one. He just had to think harder.

"Soul I think?" He answered hesitantly.

"Correct, Maxwell. Any guess in which category?"

Max pondered once more before giving a shakier answer than before.

"Either the Magic of Faith or Study. I can't determine which one it is. It could be of Faith due to the nature of faith... Seeking what is truly real. What is the higher existence amongst us? While the category of study would be seeking true knowledge or what was real. Similar to a Merlin I suppose you could say."

"Close," Leonard said before continuing "It is the aspect of study for a similar reason to what you thought but not necessarily the correct one."

"The magic of study is to find the secrets that the universe has laid down upon us and the world. So a Seeker is someone who tries to find these secrets and unravel them."

"Seekers can hear things others can't and that makes them unique. Their magic is fine-tuned to tell them what direction to go to. To find the clues that the universe has laid before them."

"At the beginning, the secrets can't understand the secrets their magic learn. Instead, they just have bouts of inspiration. But for those who study the gift, they have been given they can actively feel the secrets their magic learns and understand them so."

"There are three main categories to what a seeker can do and they are as follows: Sage's Guidance, Comprehension, and finally Keeper of Secrets."

"Sage's Guidance help Seekers find the direction in which they should look. This could be anywhere from a hunch to blatant acts of magic. For instance, if you were to go into your grandfather's library and pick a random book off a shelf the book may hold the answers you seek but this is only true if there is a book on those shelves that hold your answer. And for the blatant acts of magic, I suppose the most common one is the book you happen to be reading seemingly flips to a random page in front of you."

"There is no science behind the gifts of a natural, but there are some hunches on why this happens though that is somewhat advanced knowledge that I have not delved into much despite my old age." Said the man who looked not a day past thirty.

'Just how old is this guy? He seems to know much more than the typical guy that's for sure.' Max thought to himself as he stared at the bald man in front of him.

"Now, Comprehension. This is rather simple, it's just your ability to comprehend things faster than other people."

"Finally there is the Keeper of Secrets. This is perhaps the most scientific aspect of a seeker. It simply means that they can hear things that they are not supposed to hear. For instance. You were hearing your Father's and Grandfather's conversation through a high-grade ward which would be nearly impossible unless you were of a certain mastery over said ward. This means you can physically hear things you are not supposed to whether that means you can bypass wards or natural blockages such as through walls that are simply too thick. You can also hear whispers of the dead while in graveyards or any number of other things. I'm sure you will learn them on your journey as an awakened but the list is simply too long to go over with you in one session which is, I'm afraid, coming to an end." He finished before checking a watch that had not been on his wrist a moment before.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

His grandfather sighed deeply after seeing the crestfallen Max.

"Come on Leonard. Are we not old friends and it's been thirty minutes exactly. Why not a few more to finish explaining to the boy?" His grandfather asked in a business-like manner.

"Hmm..."

"100 gold per extra minute. That's after the family discount of course." He said before giving him a devilishly handsome smile.

Max's grandfather just sighed before agreeing.

"Ten more minutes then should do." He said before making 1000 gold appear in front of him on the table by a simple act of magic.

Leonard nodded at the small amount of money and looked at Max and began to continue.

"That happens to be the general basis of a seeker. But now with your natural affinity with the lightning element."

"Elements are often elusive... They can have multiple facets and outlets for their power. For instance, the Lightning element might seem to be a simple-minded destruction element but it is far from just that."

"Lighting can be used to manipulate electronic devices and make magical devices that are unlike any typical appliance. Not only that but Lightning can also be used to create faster spells. A spell that would scan someone can have the element of lightning adjusted to it and after that, the spell casts much faster and thus gives results just as quick."

"It's fitting for a Seeker to have the aspect of Lightning because lightning happens to be the most direct element of magic or... one of the most direct."

"With the aspect of lightning, you can improve your mental speed drastically making learning much easier. Reflexes can be improved, spells quickened, and the mind strengthened, all at an inconceivable speed. Your progress will out mark your peers by an incredible amount and your efficiency in casting spells and getting the most 'bang for your buck' is something you will excel in."

"Any questions so far mister Awakened?" He asked curiously.

'What question will he ask? I'm curious. The first Seeker in hundreds of years... and an Awakened at that.'

Max pondered for a second as he rubbed his temple with his pointer finger in thought.

'I guess he talked about the uses of the lightning element in unorthodox ways but not in the most direct... and one other thing,'

"How do you cast spells with the lightning element? You talk about the amazing effects of it but how do you implement it into the spells you use every day?"

'Fuck... He caught my bluff it looks like.' Leonard thought to himself as he rushed to find an answer.

"Well... it's quite difficult and not something we could cover in the remaining... six minutes we have left." He said while checking his watch.

"I can pay for that. I'm sure you know that much Leonard." Max's grandfather said while gently sitting down on his nice black velvet chair.

'Damnit'

"Well, you see the thing is... I don't know how to use elements in magic other than the light element and even then it's pretty difficult. For the average person, it is near impossible to cast spells with elemental effects tied to them. Only for freaks like you can do so without much theory and rhetoric learned."

"You would most likely need to find another person with a natural affinity and it would be a plus if they were of the lightning affinity."

Max nodded to his answer and thought it was natural. He was special now after all... though he wouldn't let it get to his head of course.

Max smiled as he asked his final question.

"What about the destructive capability of lightning?" He asked gently.

The look on Leonard's face went from one of calm to one of nervousness in an instance and he fidgeted with his ring slightly as he began to answer.

"Well you see lightning happens to be at the top of the scale of the destructive capability of the elements and this can lead to some destructive spells."

"It can cause paralysis and can cut the connection between one's nerves to prevent the ability to cast spells which is incredibly deadly." He said as he began to fidget harder.

"Honestly. I'm not a fan of the element. Had too many bad run-ins with mages of the element."

"Oh yeah, and lightning mages can fly with enough practice." He added with a light smile.

Max nodded gently at the information.

'I suppose super speed isn't out of question either. ' He thought to himself as he made a motion of checking one's watch to which Leonard naturally checked his.

'3, 2, and 1!' Max thought in his head as Leonard nodded his head.

"Ten minutes on the dot. No extra payment today it looks like" He said while completely refusing to acknowledge the extra 1000 gold coins as extra pay.

"Seems like that will be the rest of my stay here and, remember Onyx, that was your last favor." He said with a smirk towards Max's grandfather before disappearing in a flash of light.

Max turned his eyes towards his Grandfather before laughing.

His grandfather turned to him with a raised eyebrow only to be met with more laughter.

"Such a big exit-hahaha-that he forgot-haha-to grab his payment!" Max said in a fit of laughter, gently motioning to the sacks of gold on the table.

Onyx Blacklock let out a laugh for the first time in a while at that moment as he felt the divide between him and his grandson begin to close once more.

----------------------------------------

(A/N: Holy shit lines exist!)

After that day the days turned to months and the months to years. Time began to flash before his eyes as his days became booked with training and learning. He would spend all morning attending standard classes while the afternoon he would spend on magic theory and finally the evening he would spend practicing his newly improved theory.

It was truly exhausting but... strangely energizing at the same time.

'Man I love this.' Max thought to himself as he became dressed in a matter of seconds after waking up. His mind clearer than ever as he snapped awake in an instance. He motioned around the room like a symphony as everything seemed to move into the perfect position and the books that had been left open the previous night seemed to have bookmarks placed on their respective pages and gently placed into the envelope he had received from his siblings two years ago.

"Man two years passed like that..." He whispered to himself before feeling a killing pain stab into his stomach.

He fell over in an instance as he clutched his stomach.

"Agh!" He let out a small shout as he felt it worsen and he felt his magic start to act up.

Lightning just began to twirl around him before he snapped his fingers and quelled the waves of swirling strings of plasma. But the pain only worsened in response.

'Somethings happening to me!' Max thought before the pain suddenly stopped.

Max laid on the floor, flat like a board one moment and the next... he was straight in the air a few feet off the ground with a faint blue glow filling his once dull, black eyes.

"Oh... I do suppose it is my tenth birthday. I nearly forgot" Max said before chuckling gently.

It seemed as if a change had gone over Max's magic and something else...

Max focused inwards to check his body, mind, and soul's integrity to see if anything had changed and sure enough something had changed drastically. His mind had changed from the endless void to an endless plane of a cloudless sky. His memories were no longer just in the form of photographs but also of books and envelopes. They all soared through the sky in different flocks, almost as if self-organizing.

Max felt out this strange change and realized a few things. His Mind had evolved like his grandfather had explained it would in due time. He didn't explain much about the evolution progress other than the fact that his magical reservoir would increase but he did say it would change fundamentally.

'I need to ask this immediately! There is no telling what has happened to my mind and if the evolution was beneficial or not.' Max thought to himself as he realized he was still floating.

"Wait how the Fu-" Max began to shout as he immediately fell to the ground.

He had flown. Just a few inches off the ground that was but he had still flown. Something that was nigh impossible from the knowledge he had known. Some had done it but it was just... ridiculously difficult to do.

'Man these awakenings must be weird' Max thought to himself as he hurried upstairs to his grandfather's study to ask him what exactly had happened to him.